THE EFFECT OF A NEW PROBIOTIC PRODUCT LINE IN PATIENTS WITH IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME: CLINICAL OBSERVATION

Background It has been proven for many years that probiotics play pivotal role in the treatment of IBS patients. However it is still not very clear which strains are more beneficial than others in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).Our aim in the current clinical observation was to follow up the effect of a novel probiotic product line available on the Bulgarian market - Biopron IB-Symbio (Walmark, Czech Republic) in the treatment of IBS patients. Methods This prospective clinical observation included 45 consecutive patients divided into three groups: group 1 – 15 patients with diarrhea predominant post-infectious IBS (IBS-D), group 2 - 15 with constipation-predominant IBS (IBS-C) and group 3 – 15 IBS patients meeting Rome III but not meeting Rome IV criteria. Four week monotherapy with a new probiotic line was commenced in every group. The symptoms were evaluated before and after treatment. Moreover in IBS-D group fecal calprotectin (FCP) was monitored Results Significant reduction of FCP mean levels was observed in group 1 – from 152 µg/g at week 0 to 64 µg/gat week 4 (p<0,001). After probiotic treatment diarrhea was present only in 3 (20%) patients, and pain in 5 (33%) of the patients. In group 2 constipation was present after treatment just in 2 (13%) patients and abdominal pain in 4 (27%) of them. In group 3 - at 4 week after treatment discomfort was present in 3 (20%) patients, bloating in 2 (13%) patients and change in frequency of stool in 4 (27%) Conclusion The current clinical observation shows that Biopron probiotic product line significantly improves the symptoms in IBS patients. Moreover, it reduces the inflammatory activity in patients with post-infectious IBS.Additional multicenter observations with larger number of patients from different regions are needed to obtain even more accurate data